Two months before he was killed with a crossbow in a public library, Si Cheng contacted a reporter at Chinese-language newspaper for help.

Just two months before Si Cheng was killed with a crossbow in a public library — a crime his son now stands accused of — the 52-year-old man was living in a homeless shelter and contacting reporters for help.

According to an article in the Chinese-language newspaper Sing Tao Daily, Cheng contacted one of its journalists in late September with a three-page letter detailing allegations of a tumultuous past which included a near-fatal car accident, marital strife, jail time and years of estrangement from his son.

Reporter Hugh Li said he met with Cheng twice, most recently on Oct. 5, but never wound up publishing an article about the man until this Saturday, two days after Cheng was fatally shot with a crossbow inside the Main St. public library.

“I saw (Cheng’s) name on the website and I realized it’s him. It surprised me,” Li said Monday. “I called (my editor) and I told him, ‘I know this man.’ ”

The men first met Sept. 30, a few days after Cheng phoned Li at his office. Li picked Cheng up from an east-end homeless shelter and drove to a nearby Canadian Tire, where they conducted an interview in the parking lot.

Cheng said he had been evicted from his home without notice and was not even allowed to retrieve his personal belongings, documents or identification papers.

Cheng acted anxious and paranoid, according to Li, making several allegations against his wife. He also appeared to have not bathed in several days, Li noted.

Cheng said he was originally from China’s Yunnan province, where he worked for the government as a chemical engineer. His wife, Cheng Mei Fang, who also goes by Nora, taught English at Yunnan University but moved to Australia in 1996. Cheng soon joined her.

On Feb. 27, 1997, Cheng had a serious car accident in Sydney that left him in a coma for five days, according to the Sing Tao article. He suffered temporary memory loss as well as other chronic ailments that made it difficult for him to work.

In May 1997, Cheng was placed in a mental hospital but released a day later after contacting the Chinese consulate in Australia for help, according to Li. Six months later, Cheng moved to Canada with his wife and son, eventually purchasing a home in North York using the compensation money from his car accident.

Fang found a job as an ESL teacher and Cheng worked mostly as a manual labourer, at one point operating heavy machinery.

Cheng has had two domestic violence convictions involving his family and admitted to Li that he assaulted his wife in May 2002.

Cheng served about four months in jail and when he returned home, both his wife and son were gone. According to Fang’s former divorce lawyer, Paul R. Krumeh, the woman and her son left Toronto and went into hiding after she separated with Cheng in 2002.

Krumeh said Cheng’s wife was “extremely fearful” of her husband and had obtained a restraining order. He said Cheng allegedly beat her and damaged her eyesight in one eye so badly she could no longer keep her job as a teacher.

But according to Li, Cheng felt he was, in fact, the one who was victimized in the relationship. He made several allegations about his ex-wife that Li was unable to verify.

Li said he was shocked to learn Cheng was the victim in the library slaying. He now regrets not doing more to help Cheng when he had the opportunity.

“I believe his story but I still think he was hiding some things,” Li said. “But I never got the chance to ask him.”

Main St. library patron Elizabeth Bellerose, who goes every day but was out of town when the attack happened, said she recognized Cheng’s photo in the media.

“He would go there daily, like a few times a day,” she said. “He was quiet.”

Bellerose said she had seen him several times looking at pornography on the Internet, and complained to library staff. She said Cheng was warned repeatedly but never actually banned from the library.

With files from Dan Robson

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